Pantaloon-prtftector



(No Model.)

0. J. MQDBRMOTT.

PANTALOON PROTECTOR.

No. 271,891. Patented Peb.6,1883.

, WITNESSES: I INVENTOR:

ATTORNEYS.

UNITED STATES P TENT FFIGE.

CHARLES J. MGDERMOTT, OF SANDY HOOK, CONNECTICUT.

PANTALOO N-PROTECTO R.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 271,891, dated February 6, 1883,

Application filed October 20, 1882. (No model.)

5 a new and useful Improvement in Pantaloon- I Protectors, of which the following is a full,

clear, and exact description.

This invention relates to devices for holding up the bottoms of pantaloons to prevent them from being injured or soiled by dragging in the mud during. bad weather. Among the va iious devices proposed for this purpose some have been formed or provided with a guard which has consisted of a rearwardly and upwardl y curved projection attached to a rubber band having end hooks to work in eyelets on the shoe, while others have had a rearwardlyprojecting plate on the heel of the boot or shoe, arranged to prevent the lower end of the pan- 20 taloon-legs from touching the ground, and

others, again, have been formed with a tongue attached to the heel portion of the boot or shoe and bearing with a yielding pressure against the lower portion of the leg of the pantaloons; but in all these and other devices for the same purpose, including the pantaloonprotector for which Letters Patent No. 257,036 were granted me April 12, 1882, and in which a spring'clamp attached to the back portion of the boot or shoe and provided with a rubber ball at its top for hold on the pantaloons is used, the protector has either been a permanent attachment to the boot or shoe, which makes it only available when such particular boot or shoe is used, or it has been a removable attachment, either as hereinbefore referred to or by a complicated system of straps and buckles to the boot or shoe, which in the one case necessitates fastening devices on the boot or shoe for it to connect with, and in the other case involves time and labor in applying it and the soiling of the fingers in removing it. y

The object of this invention is to produce an efficient pantaloon protector of simple and cheap construction, which shall neither be a permanent attachment to the boot or shoe nor a removable attachment secured by fastening devices applied to the boot or shoe, but shall admit of its ready application and removal by a simple ankl'e tape or strap which is independent of the boot or shoe.

The inventionconsists in a device of novel construction for this purpose and in certain details of its construction, the same comprising a clamping plate or holder having com bined with or applied to it an ankle tape or strap, and a spring attached to said plate or holder for clamping the lower part of the pantaloon leg between it and the holder, and constructed with a crook forming a pocket for reception within it of the hem or lower edge of the pantaloon-leg, likewise forming a handle for opening the clamp, and whereby the pantaloons are more securely held, and an elastic ball or pad on the spring maybe dispensed with. The clamping plate or holder is preferably provided. at its upper end with duplicate slots, through which a removableankletape or strap may be passed to secure the protectorin place.

Reference is to be had tothe accompanyin g drawings, forming a part of this specification, in which similar letters of reference indicate corresponding parts in both the figures.

Figure 1 represents a view in perspective of a pantaloon protector embodying my invention and as it appears when in use or applied to the bottom of the leg of a pairof pantaloons, and Fig. 2 is a rear view of the same when not applied.

A indicates the plate or holder of the clamp or clasp, which may be madeof metal or any other suitable material. This holder, when the clamp or clasp is applied, is designed to hang down over or on the heel portion of the boot or shoe, and is not permanently attached to the boot or shoe, as in the case of the pantaloon-protectorpatented to me and hereinbefore referred to but said plate or holder is constructed at its upper end with two parallel or duplicate slots, 1) b, through which a tape or strap, B, may be passed to secure the clamp or clasp to its place'by tying, buckling, or otherwise fastening said tape or strap around the ankle of the wearer. Secured to or near the lower end of this plate or holder A, upon the outside of it, is the spring or elastic tongue 0, between the upper end of which and the plate or holder A the rear lower portion of the pantaloon-leg D is inserted and securely held by the spring. The spring 0 is of peculiar construction, being formed with an outward how or crook, c, in it, which forms a pocket to receive the hero or back edge of the lower end of the pantaloon -leg within it, and prevents the pantaloon-leg from slipping out or becoming disengaged, no matter what position the wearer may assume, also which stiffens the spring, thereby enabling a lighter one to be used, and forms a convenient handle or hold for opening the clamp or clasp. Said how or crook likewise admits of mydispensing, if desired, with the rubber ball on the upper end of the spring, as in my previously-patented pantaloon-protector before cited.

The tape or strap B may be readily replaced byanother when necessary, and may be quickly applied to or released from the ankle.

The spring 0 may be secured at its lower end either by two rivets, d d, as shown, the same passing through holes made in the plate A, or by a single rivet and suitable guides to preventit from moving sidewise, or in any other suitable manner.

This pantaloon clasp and protector, which is an independentdevice from the boot or shoe, may easily be carried in the pocket for use when desired, and be readily applied without soiling the fingers, even when the boot or shoe has been exposed to mud or dirt. The whole device, in fact, constitutes a suspension clamp or clasp, which firmly grips or holds the rear lower portion of the pantaloon-leg within it,

and consequently differs from a mere spring, which presses the pantaloons against the boot or shoe or leg of the wearer; and the invention is not restricted to the precise construction here shown of such pocket-like clamp or clasp, as the spring might be otherwise attached, and other provisions be made for suspending the device.

Havingthus described my invention, I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent 1. An improved pantaloon-protector consisting of a plate adapted to have a fasteningstrap secured to its upper end, and provided with a spring-clamp at its lower end, substantially as herein shown and described.

2. The combination, with the plate A, provided at its upper end with the parallel slots 1) bfor receiving a fastening-strap, ofthe spring 0, secured to the lower end of the said plate, substantially as herein shown and described.

3. The combination, with the plate A, provided with the parallel slots 1) b for receiving a fastening-strap, ot' the spring 0, secured to the said plate and provided with the bow or crook a, substantially as shown and described.

CHARLES J. MGDERMOTT.

Witnesses:

ANsoN P. SMITH, HENR L. WHEELER. 

